Busy mid-to-late summer for album releases September 23, 2013

Between July 30 and September 17, seven albums were released by my favorite contemporary jazz musicians.

Needless to say, I bought them all.  They vary in style, but were all satisfying.

In order of release date, they were:

• Earl Klugh, HandPicked (July 30) – Mostly covers with a pair of original compositions, and a remake of “Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” which he first covered on Magic in Your Eyes (1978); duets with Bill Frisell, Jake Shimabukuro, and Vince Gill (who also sang one verse)
• Chuck Loeb, Silhouette (August 13) – A series of tracks recorded with various bands backing up depending on the track; his wife, Carmen Cuesta, and their two daughters, Christina and Lizzy, are also featured
• The Jeff Lorber Fusion, Hacienda (August 27) – The third album since the Fusion were reborn in 2010; surprisingly, the album lacks remakes of original Fusion songs, but it doesn’t matter because every song is a thrilling adventure; “King Kong,” a Frank Zappa cover, features violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, who originally covered the song on King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (1970)
• Pieces Of A Dream, In The Moment (August 27) – Has the signature Pieces style that I know and love; guitarist Rohn Lawrence featured prominently
• Jessy J, Second Chances (September 10) – Features Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip, Johnny Britt, and Norman Brown; album title and its title track refer to never giving up on the first try, if at first you don’t succeed, etc.; the running joke in my head is the album should technically be Fourth Chances, since it’s Jessy’s fourth album
• Steve Cole, Pulse (September 17) – Collaborative effort with David Mann (co-producer, co-engineer, writer or co-writer, backing saxes and flute); “With You All the Way” is based in part on “All ‘n All,” David’s composition for Nelson Rangell on Far Away Day (2000)
• Oli Silk, Razor Sharp Brit (September 17) – Features Elan Trotman, Chuck Loeb, and Paul Brown (no relation to Norman); I was amazed how Oli was able to write (and perform) in Chuck’s style on “The Prestige,” the song featuring him

Besides these magnificent seven, I also finally bought Quartette Humaine by Bob James and David Sanborn, their follow-up to Double Vision (1986).  It’s a straight-ahead, acoustic album, which initially drew me away when it was released in May, but I made the right decision in buying it last month.

Tomorrow, Spyro Gyra’s The Rhinebeck Sessions album comes out.  Based on the previews I heard on Amazon, I’m in for a treat with that one.